I recall part of a conversation I had with my father about the Enron fraud case in the early 2000s. Dad was a retired executive, so I asked his opinion about the CEO claiming he didn’t know what was going on. My dad told me it’s the CEO’s job to know. If one said otherwise, he was either admitting he was incompetent or he was lying. To make a long story short, the incompetence defense didn’t work out. A CEO is paid to know what’s going on in the business. If a CEO really doesn’t know, he shouldn’t be the CEO. In the Enron case, the CEO was found guilty of fraud, so he knew.
Whenever any public figure pleads ignorance, this should be a red flag. The higher their position, the more we should question their competence and the more we should suspect they might be lying. We’ve heard many claim “this is the first time I’ve heard about it,” even after it has been widely reported. Nevertheless, this post isn’t about incompetent, conniving public officials. Anyone could write a book about that.
We all know what’s going on, at least in some areas. For example, we know what things cost and have a good idea why. We know that the system is often unfair to those who lack money, power, status, or the correct skin color. We know that some of the most vulnerable are the most neglected or abused. Based on the Gospel of Matthew, we know we should help the hungry, the stranger, the poor, the sick, and the prisoner. All religions teach similar principles. We know about generosity and charity. We know it’s our job to take care of those who are less fortunate.
We know that while vaccines and masks may not be 100% effective for us, they are extremely helpful for others. We also know that Smallpox, Polio, Measles and many other diseases have been eradicated or seriously curtailed thanks to vaccines. We know that oil and natural gas supplies will eventually run out. And we’ve known since the time of Eratosthenes that the Earth is a spheroid.
While we know the government sometimes lies to us, we also know that overall, we benefit from a federal highway system; food, drug, and environmental regulations; six branches of armed forces; a judicial system: a social security system; national parks; and a transcontinental postal service. Even though Mr. Reagan said, “the government is the problem,” we know the government does a good job in many areas. We also know that when agencies are politicized the government can’t do a good job for everyone.
While we can debate the impact of humans on climate change, we know something is going on. Animal and plant habitats are changing, weather events are getting more severe, growing seasons are not the same as when George Washington planted crops at Mount Vernon (there are records), human and animal populations are under stress, average temperatures and sea levels are rising, glaciers are melting, and atmospheric currents are in flux. We know about these effects, and we know the rate of change has surpassed pre-industrial times.
We know that in some parts of the world there is inexcusable death and destruction. We know that thousands of civilians, including innocent children, have been killed under the pretext of “military” actions. We know that these casualties amount to genocide. We certainly ought to know a humanitarian crisis when we see one. We know that a nation that claims to value human life should not turn a blind eye to suffering and death. And we know that valuing some human lives more than others is wrong. If “all lives matter,” then the lives of the hungry, the stranger, the poor, the sick, and the prisoner are valuable, both here and abroad.
Recently, Greta Thunberg commented, “No one can say we didn’t know what was happening” in reference to Gaza. She described the situation there as a “genocide broadcast live on our phones.” So, when we say, “we didn’t know,” are we admitting our incompetence or just lying to ourselves? After all, if “we didn’t know” then we can believe we are not responsible. If we admit we know, and still do nothing, we might be complicit. When the world ends, I’m sure some will say, “we didn’t know,” even though it’s our job as human beings to know.
MurrayWorks 